Black bread, authenticity, types, trends
Black bread, a name used to identify different types of bread, from the typical Northern Italian one, often recommended in low-calorie diets, to new trends involving the use of activated charcoal in the dough (functional to reduce intestinal gas, giving a characteristic outer color). An unusual example of “Black bread” is that of Castelvetrano, Slow Food presidium, a jewel of centuries-old memory, based on a rare local durum wheat variety, called “tumminìa“, still made with wholemeal flours.
The bread commonly called “black“, made from rye flour, is a food of poor cuisine once meant for the less wealthy classes, reflecting a cross-border vocation of the northernmost Italian borders. If produced in South Tyrol it takes the names of Vinschger Paarl (“pair“, because it is made by joining two round rolls), Schüttelbrot or “scosso“, meaning beaten at two-thirds of the fermentation, and Pusterer Breatl, original of the Puster Valley. In Valtellina the tradition is kept alive by ciambella and Brizzaldella. Different types of accompaniment, ideal to pair with local dishes, low in energy volume. Black bread calories are, in fact, about 219 kcal per 100 g (269 for the white bread counterpart).
